Ask An Expert on Railroads / California Book Club: The Octopus

Hi, it’s Vanessa, your ENLIGHTENMENT host.

Here’s the latest pick for my bimonthly book club of fiction/non-fiction focused on the Golden State.

Along with the book, I invite a special guest to each club meeting, someone who is an expert or very connected to the theme of the book and can answer our questions about the topic. So even if you haven’t finished / opened the book, you can still be part of the conversation.

The first book I actually enjoyed reading that was assigned to me in high school English class was by Frank Norris. I tore through this rip-roaring tale of greed, corruption and violence, and I also learned a lot about the impact of railroads in the Central Valley..

I’m inviting an expert on the history of railroads in California to join us. So bring your comments, opinions and questions — nothing is too small or dumb to discuss.

Join me for a Sunday Brunchtime talk about the book, railroads and farming in the Central Valley, and how they all combined and clashed.

Tickets are $5 (not including Eventbrite's fee) to cover brunch bites and mimosas.

Below is a summary of The Octopus.

*****

Like the tentacles of an octopus, the tracks of the railroad reached out across California, as if to grasp everything of value in the state. Based on an actual, bloody dispute between wheat farmers and the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1880, The Octopus is a stunning novel of the waning days of the frontier West.

To the tough-minded and self-reliant farmers, the monopolistic, land-grabbing railroad represented everything they despised: consolidation, organization, conformity. But Norris idealizes no one in this epic depiction of the volatile situation, for the farmers themselves ruthlessly exploited the land, and in their hunger for larger holdings they resorted to the same tactics used by the railroad: subversion, coercion and outright violence.

In his introduction, Kevin Starr discusses Norris’s debt to French author Emile Zola for the novel’s extraordinary sweep, scale and abundance of characters and details.

****

For more information about ENLIGHTENMENT and about California Groundbreakers, go to californiagroundbreakers.org

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher California Groundbreakers